Posts Tagged ‘mercedes CLS’

The BMW i8 roadster gets a soft top and a more powerful drivetrain with a longer-range battery

This week marks the opening of the Los Angeles Auto Show, the nation’s first big car show of the 2018 model-year. Over a dozen manufacturers will roll out new products in Tinseltown, some making their global debuts, others appearing for the first time in North America.

While there are a few surprises in store, a number of manufacturers have already offered insight into what they’ll introduce at the L.A. Convention Center. That includes Jeep, which will lift the covers off the much-anticipated new Wrangler sport-utility vehicle. No surprise, in fact, that utes will dominate the show’s schedule, though we’ll see some intriguing products on the passenger car side, including the third-generation Mercedes-Benz CLS and, for mainstream buyers, the new Mazda6.

LA Auto Show News!

The Los Angeles show has a tradition of focusing on green technology and there’ll be plenty of alternative tech to check out, including the new roadster version of BMW’s plug-in hybrid i8, as well as the new Infiniti Q50 which introduces the first variable-compression turbo engine.

Here’s a look at some of the most important introductions we’ll be seeing this week:

A first teaser shot reveals some notable changes to the nose of the next Mercedes-Benz CLS.

Few cars have had a bigger impact on automotive design than the original Mercedes-Benz CLS which introduced the concept of coupe-like sedans that seemingly every automaker has now copied.

First launched for the 2005 model-year, Mercedes took a cautious approach with the gen-2 CLS, opting for evolution over revolution. Now, an all-new remake will be making its debut at the upcoming Los Angeles Auto Show, and we’ve gotten two teaser images offering some hints of what to expect.

Auto Show Previews!

We’ve done a little work with Photoshop to pull some details out of the shadows and reveal a bit more about the face of the Mercedes-Benz CLS. But what you see is what we got in terms of the interior detail shot. And if that’s any indication of what to expect, it’s likely the CLS cabin where we’ll be some of the most dramatic updates to the new CLS.

The visual changes are subtle, as Mercedes puts the emphasis on tech with the 2015 CLS.

Peekaboo. The new 2015 Mercedes-Benz CLS can see you – thanks to a sophisticated new Multibeam LED headlamp system that can adapt to traffic, swivel around corners, and even anticipate the road ahead thanks to its camera and navigation systems.

From a styling standpoint, Mercedes largely stays with the swoopy shape that has made the CLS the benchmark in the coupe-like sedan segment. About the only notable exterior changes come with a revised bumper and larger air intakes.

Your Guiding Light!

The focus of this mid-cycle update is on the technological side, but there fans will find plenty, from the new Multibeam LED lamps to the 8-inch infotainment display featuring the newest version of the Mercedes COMAND system.

Daimler AG has launched production of its newest model from a brand new plant in Hungary. Based on its compact A-Class platform, the new Mercedes-Benz CLA will become the smallest vehicle the German luxury maker has ever sold in the U.S. when it reaches American showrooms later this year.

The decision to produce the CLA at the new plant in Kecskemét, Hungary appears to be a critical step in holding down production costs on a vehicle that would be difficult to market in the U.S. and other parts of the world were it to come from Germany, analysts suggest.

Subscribe Now!

The CLA is the first model exclusively built in Kecskemét, but the plant’s second product along with the slightly larger Mercedes B-Class, which went into production last year for delivery to markets across Europe.

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to figure out where to classify some vehicles. Take the new BMW 6-Series Gran Coupe. By definition, a 6-Series has traditional been a 2-door, whether with a sweeping hardtop or convertible soft top. So, what to make of the new BMW 6-Series Gran Coupe?

The latest entry into the 6-Series line-up will feature four doors and 4+1 seating, joining a rapidly expanding list of “coupe-like sedans,” such as the Mercedes-Benz CLS and Porsche Panamera.

Your High-Powered News Source!

Set for introduction early this summer, the initial BMW 640i Gran Coupe will measure 197 inches, nose-to-tail, a modest 4.4 inches longer than its 2-door sibling – most of the added space devoted to the rear passengers, a good news considering the back seat of the conventional 6-Series coupe is little more than an afterthought. To put things into perspective, the new Gran Coupe is precisely 4 inches longer than the BMW 5-Series – and also 1.3 inches wider and 2.8 inches lower.

Even Mercedes' big cars, like the all-new 2011 version of the CLS, are getting new battery-based drivetrain technologies.

With barely 125 days to go until Mercedes-Benz marks its 125th anniversary, Daimler AG CEO is promising to unveil a significant new patent to celebrate the birth of the world’s oldest carmaker.

But what is in store he isn’t saying yet, beyond hinting that a significant development in driveline technology is in store – a fitting way to celebrate the day, in January 1886, when Carl Benz took the first critical step towards putting the world on wheels.

Daimler has been using the Paris Motor Show as a backdrop for setting in motion some grand plans for the future, starting with a wild party on the Champs Elysees at the new Mercedes-Benz Gallery.

Live From Paris!

CEO Dieter Zetsche used the occasion to lay out what some might suggest is an overly-ambitious growth plan that would roughly double Mercedes sales to 1.5 million annually by 2015.

The new coupe-look sedan is trying to straddle the opposing fences of automotive design.

Ahead of its formal media debut at the Paris Motor Show on September 30, Mercedes has released more photos of its most emotionally styled sedan, the CLS. The public days follow on October 2 – 17.

While abandoning some of the flowing and rounded look of the original, the new flagship is trying to straddle the opposing fences of automotive design – curves versus angles.

Auto design has been in this cycle for decades, if not forever. Round it off, then square it off or combine the two – repeat.

The four-door coupe, of course, maintains its signature frame-less side glass and longitudinal accent lines that soar from front to rear, in an unacknowledged tribute to Detroit stylists who perfected the four-coupe coupe look in the 1950s, the Golden Age of American automobiles.

And there is nothing new under the German sun either, starting with the Benz ‘s recently exaggerated or over-sized tri-star on the grille, the long nose that sweeps back into a reclined windshield followed by the a low roof that recedes into a truncated trunk lid.

Ah, the inside straddle. At least one interior will have wood accents and lighter hues.

But the CLS is not about practicality, of course – rear head or trunk room are secondary to the look, one that was so successful that is being pursued by virtually all automakers in their current or future portfolios, from the Buick LaCrosse to various Jaguars, to Hyundai’s Sonata and the Volkswagen CC, to name but a few. Cadillac stands alone in pursuing purer angles.

The interior of the new CLS has been upgraded, too, in a distinct departure with classic design, it echoes the current and widely copied German clichés by eschewing wood in the signature show car in favor of carbon fiber panels and cold Teutonic tones and chrome cues that could also be used on modern bathroom fixtures or Braun and Bosch appliances. On reflection, they in fact already are.

However, the latest interior shot released today shows lighter tones and wood accents as well in at least one version – a good thing in my view because the higher beltline will produce a cave-like effect inside.

Few new entries have had more of an impact on automotive design, in recent years, than the Mercedes-Benz CLS.

The launch of the original coupe-like sedan, in 2003, not only added a little more emotion to the often Teutonically-stern Mercedes line-up, but also influenced the industry overall, with a growing number of makers – like Volkswagen, with the curvaceous CC – to adapt a more coupe-like look for their four-door offerings.

Can Daimler AG’s flagship brand maintain its first-mover advantage – and also resolve some of the problems with the original CLS? It’s certainly going to try, as these advance photos of the 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS suggest.

Free Subscription!

Set for a formal debut at the upcoming Paris Motor Show, on September 30th, the initial appearance of the 2012 CLS is familiar, starting with the oversized tri-star logo, on the grille, the long nose sweeping back to an abbreviated rear deck.

The four-door coupe maintains its frameless side glass and the sweeping accent lines that race from front to rear.

The first good look at the 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS, the original coupe-like sedan.

We’ve been seeing next-generation CLS prototypes with lots of camo for some time now. Today, we’ve caught the 2012 CLS on a photo shoot wearing almost no disguise at all!

From our photos, it quickly becomes apparent the CLS is in for quite a change. The front end is much more angular and aggressive. We’ve also realized that, when looking at camouflaged prototypes from earlier in the year, CLS prototypes were wearing an extensive front clip that was completely fake!

Towards the back, the CLS is getting significantly bigger fender flares, giving the Mercedes hips that look almost Bentley-like. A much flashier pair of tailights are easy to see as well.

Acura is the latest maker to offer up a coupe-like sedan, shown here, for the first time, in production trim.

It seems like every automaker is trying to find a way to stand out in a crowded market – often by following the latest trend. In Acura’s case, that means the luxury arm of Honda will be rolling out an all-new four-door sports coupe this fall.

This is the first official look at the 2010 Acura ZDX, which made a thinly-disguised debut as we said at the New York Auto Show, last spring, in concept car trim. Both show car and production model share the oversized “panoramic” glass roof, as well as hidden rear door handles and outsized fender flares – another styling theme that has swept through the luxury segment.

News, reviews and more!

The design puts a premium on flexibility, the five-seater coupe-like sedan appears to boast substantial interior space for passengers fore and aft, but there’s also a hefty cargo compartment that can be expanded, Acura notes, to handle golf bags and other long objects, by removing the cargo bay’s side panels. There’s also an under-floor hidden storage compartment.